The moment Zumi stepped across the threshold of Xishuangbanna, the forest changed.
The mist shifted to emerald. The wind turned warm and fragrant. The ground beneath his feet pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.
Serafina and Hina paused behind him; the forest would not allow them further. Vines gently rose from the soil, forming a shimmering green barrier.
Serafina narrowed her crimson eyes. "It wants him… and only him." Hina nodded. "This is personal." Zumi inhaled deeply and stepped forward. The forest swallowed him whole.
[Celestia Speaks]
"Zumi Kogane…
To awaken Leafa, the Goddess of Nature,
you must walk the path of remembrance, devotion, and harmony.
These are the Trials of the Green Heart."
The forest brightened—
and the first trial began.
[Celestia Speaks]
"First: The Trial of Love Remembered.
Only one who truly knows her heart may approach her spirit."
The world twisted into a memory.
A celestial garden under twin moons.
Silver-blue rivers flowing through lotus fields.
A breeze singing ancient songs.
And before him—
Thalassia.
Leafa.
Radiant and untouched.
Her bark-patterned skin glowed with green life.
Her silver-blue hair flowed like starlit water, studded with golden leaves.
Her green eyes held an ancient gentleness.
She stepped forward.
"Tell me," she said softly,
"Who are you to me?"
Zumi placed a hand on his heart.
"I am Zumi Kogane.
Reborn Monkey King.
Your ally.
Your protector.
The one who stood by you for 2,000 years.
The one you pledged to because I saved not just you—
but your world."
The forest brightened.
Her form dissolved into petals.
He passed the first trial.
[Celestia Speaks]
"Second: The Trial of Nature's Heart.
Life tests whether you are worthy of her guardianship."
The forest darkened.
Birdsong stopped.
Leaves shriveled.
Flowers collapsed.
A river blackened at his feet.
Before him:
A dying ancient oak.
Inside it—
a fawn-shaped nature spirit gasping for life.
The earth groaned.
A booming voice echoed through the roots:
"Will you save what is not yours?"
"Will you heal what gives you nothing?"
"Will you protect nature for love alone?"
Zumi knelt beside the fawn.
He pressed his forehead to its tiny head—
as he had once done with Serafina in Hell.
"I protect nature because she loves it," he whispered.
"And I love her."
He pressed his hands to the soil.
His golden-black aura seeped into the roots.
Life exploded outward.
Flowers erupted in spirals.
Trees unfurled fresh green leaves.
The river turned crystal clear.
The fawn sprang up as a luminous spirit and bounded away.
The corrupted grove healed completely.
He passed the second trial.
[Celestia Speaks]
"Final: The Trial of Devotion.
Prove your heart remains bound to hers across lifetimes."
The forest dissolved.
He stood in a battlefield of flame and dying trees.
Thalassia was cornered, wounded, her silver-blue hair stained with sap-blood.
Corrupted spirits circled her, screeching, ready to end her.
And he—
the Monkey King of old—
stood before her, staff glowing like a sun.
"Live!" the past Zumi roared.
"Even if I fall—live!"
The trial froze the moment in time.
"Why did you save her?"
the forest demanded.
Zumi stepped forward.
"Because I loved her," he answered softly.
"Not her title.
Not her divinity.
Her."
The battlefield shattered like glass.
A soft wind blew.
He passed all trials.
The illusions faded.
Zumi stood once more in the living forest—
before a colossal oak tree with roots like ancient serpents and branches touching the heavens.
At the base of the tree lay a small glowing seed.
Emerald green.
Warm to the touch.
Radiating gentle, ancient power.
The moment Zumi picked it up—
his heart synced with a second heartbeat.
A voice drifted through the leaves:
"Zumi…
you found me."
The forest bowed.
The roots glowed.
The spirit within the seed blossomed.
Thalassia…
Leafa…
The Goddess of Nature…
waited to awaken again.
The forest parted for him.
Roots uncoiled as if bowing.
Mist gathered like curtains opening for a king.
And the moment Zumi stepped through the barrier, the vines that sealed Serafina and Hina immediately fell away like obedient serpents.
Serafina was at his side in an instant, her midnight hair flowing, crimson eyes searching his face for wounds.
Hina rushed in too — her fiery aura flickering anxiously.
"Zumi!" Hina grabbed his arm. "Are you okay? Did the forest—"
Then they saw it.
Both women fell silent.
Cradled in Zumi's hand was a glowing emerald seed, so bright it pulsed with life.
Small, warm, beating with a tiny heartbeat that matched his.
Serafina's eyes widened — slowly filling with awe.
"Leafa…" she whispered.
Hina let out a soft breath. "That's her? Her spirit?"
Zumi nodded. "Her entire essence. The forest gave her to me."
Serafina gently touched the seed, her fingers brushing the smooth emerald surface. The moment she made contact, a soft breeze circled the three of them — leaves swirling like a blessing.
Serafina's voice trembled.
Not with fear.
Not with sorrow.
With reverence.
"She trusted you this completely? Even dormant… she still loves you."
Hina smiled softly. "Of course she does. Zumi always comes back for the people he cares about."
Zumi looked down at the seed — the warm pulse glowing through his palm.
"She's weak," he said softly.
"But alive."
He breathed in once, steadying himself.
"I need to plant her somewhere she can grow again."
The air shimmered.
A golden sigil appeared behind him, spiraling outward into the air like starlight unfolding.
Celestia manifested.
Her voice resonated like soft bells.
[Celestia Speaks] "Zumi Kogane… You hold the dormant essence of Thalassia, Goddess of Nature." "Her spirit is not safe in the mortal world. Nor in the divine realms. Nor in the forest from which she came."
The sigils brightened, forming intricate circles around the seed.
Serafina bowed her head slightly; even she, a Greater Goddess, felt the weight of Celestia's power. Hina swallowed, standing straighter.
Celestia continued, her tone steady and warm:
"To awaken her, she must be planted in a place of pure divine energy." "A sanctuary untouched by gods. Unreachable by mortals. Beyond Olympus, beyond Hell."
The runes began orbiting around Zumi specifically.
"Zumi Kogane… your soul space is the only place in existence that holds such energy." "It carries the imprint of the Monkey King — immortal, rebellious, divine." "Plant the seed in your Soul Space, and Thalassia will grow within the sanctuary of your being."
The sigils pulsed once, then dissolved.
Silence followed — heavy and sacred.
Zumi closed his fist gently around the seed.
Serafina took a step closer, laying her hand over his.
Her crimson eyes glowed with pride and softness.
"You carried me out of Hell," she murmured.
"And now you'll carry her until she's reborn."
Hina added with a teasing but heartfelt smile:
"You really are building an army of goddesses, huh?"
Zumi chuckled. "Not an army. A family."
Hina's fiery aura softened.
Serafina leaned in and kissed his cheek — a gesture of loyalty and acceptance.
"You saved me," she said. "And I will help you protect her until she returns."
Hina nodded. "Same here. We're with you, Zumi. Always."
Zumi looked between the two women he trusted with everything.
Then he lifted the seed — its green glow reflected in his golden eyes.
"Let's bring her home."
The forest rustled, as if in approval. Zumi thought about entering his Soul space and then:
Celestia's voice lingered in the air:
"Zumi Kogane. Your Soul Space is open. Serafina and Hina may enter — they are System Characters."
The world around them rippled.
Light spiraled upward from Zumi's chest, unfolding like blooming lotus petals — warm, golden, and familiar. Serafina reached out, her fingers brushing the air. The moment she touched the glow, her crimson eyes widened.
"It's… alive," she whispered.
Hina stepped closer. "It feels like he's calling us."
Zumi held the seed close, took a breath, and let Celestia's guidance pull him inward.
In a flash of golden light, all three vanished.
They stood in silence.
Before them stretched a land so breathtaking it felt like the birth of creation itself:
A towering snow-crowned mountain reaching into a violet sky. A sea of lavender blossoms and purple wildflowers, glowing softly under two moons. Pine forests standing proud like emerald guardians. Mist rolling gently across the fields, shining like silver ribbons.
The air tasted of warmth and peace — a sanctuary untouched by death, war, or sorrow.
Serafina slowly placed a hand over her heart.
"My King…" she whispered, awe shaking through her voice. "This is your soul."
Hina took a step into the lavender field, petals brushing her legs. "This is insane… Zumi, this is… beautiful."
Zumi turned in a full circle, breath catching in his chest.
Because he remembered his Soul Space from all the times he'd visited in the past — a cracked desert, a lonely wasteland, empty and cold from the burden of reincarnation.
But now?
Now it was blooming. Alive. Warm.
A world reborn from his victories, his bonds, and the goddesses who walked beside him.
"Celestia…" Zumi whispered, stunned. "You did all this?"
A soft chime answered, echoing like laughter in the wind.
[Celestia Speaks] "No. You did." "Your soul changes with your heart. With the wives you've reclaimed. With the promises you fulfilled. With the gods you defied."
Hina smiled, running her fingers through the flowers.
"So this… this is what's inside you, Zumi. No wonder the gods fear you."
Serafina's long black hair flowed behind her like a shadowed veil as she walked forward, bending down to touch the petals.
"They grow at your presence," she whispered. "You are not just a king of the past… you are a king of the living world."
Then both women saw something behind them. Built directly into the side of the colossal mountain was a mansion carved from polished stone and golden wood:
Balconies overlooking every corner of the Soul Space.
Massive windows reflecting the purple meadows.
Glowing lanterns lining the carved walkways.
A grand staircase descending into the field of lavender.
It pulsed with warmth — like a heartbeat.
Hina's eyes widened. "THAT'S YOUR HOUSE?!"
Serafina smirked softly. "It suits him. A fortress… wrapped in beauty."
Zumi stared at the mansion, shocked speechless.
"It wasn't here before," he whispered. "Nothing like this was…"
Serafina stepped closer to him, pressing a warm hand to his back.
"It appeared because you finally have people to fill it with."
Hina nodded. "Because you're not alone anymore, dummy."
Zumi swallowed hard, emotion flooding him — happiness, shock, gratitude, all intertwined.
But then—
The seed pulsed in his hand.
A gentle heartbeat.
A quiet whisper.
"Zumi…"
Leafa's voice.
Serafina laid her hand over his.
"Plant her, my King."
Hina approached with soft eyes.
"She deserves a home too."
Zumi walked into the field — to the place where the lavender grew thickest, glowing brightest.
He knelt.
Not as a god.
Not as a king.
But as Zumi.
With his bare hands, he dug into the warm earth.
The soil was soft, rich, humming with divine energy.
Serafina knelt beside him, touching the ground reverently.
Hina placed a hand on his shoulder, steady and supportive.
Zumi opened his palm.
The seed glowed emerald, pulsing gently like a sleeping heartbeat.
He whispered:
"Leafa… I'm home.
And I'm giving you a home too."
He placed the seed in the earth.
Covered it with soil.
Placed both hands over it.
And closed his eyes.
The air shimmered. The flowers bowed. The mountain hummed like a living heart.
[Celestia Notification] "Goddess of Nature Seed — Planted in Divine Soul Space." "Environment: Optimal." "Awakening Progress: 0.2% — Growing." "Zumi Kogane… you have given Thalassia a sanctuary worthy of her spirit."
Zumi exhaled slowly.
Serafina leaned into him, her voice soft.
"She will bloom beautifully here, my love."
Hina smiled warmly. "And she'll have all of us waiting for her."
The ground pulsed once—
Emerald light glowed from beneath the soil.
A tiny green sprout emerged.
The first sign… that the Goddess of Nature was coming back to life.